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Theatre Complete reveals The Naughty List

The cast and crew of the The Naughty List: A Crooked Children Christmas, pose for a photo in character on the stage at Kingston Collegiate in Kingston, Ont. on Thursday December 7, 2017. For one night only, admission by monetary donation, the performance will be one of the Theatre Complete students final exams, while also giving back to children in need, with 100% of the donations being giving to University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. Julia McKay/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network

For one night only, the students from Theatre Complete are going to be naughty, but in a good way.

The Theatre Complete holiday charity show The Naughty List: A Crooked Children Christmas will take place at Kingston Collegiate on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The students described the show as unique, funny, childish, surprising, creative and Christmasy.

The students and program teacher Ryan Clement created the original family-friendly show on the theme of what kids think might get them on Santa’s naughty list.

“[At the start] all I knew was that potentially [the show] was going to focus on stories of things that kids might consider misdeeds of theirs during the holiday season that might ban them from getting on the nice list and place them on the naughty list,” Clement said. “I’m sure [audience members] will see aspects of themselves and maybe things they may have considered as misdeeds of their own when they were kids that might have put them on the naughty list.”

“It’s been fun because the characters are based off our own personalities,” Emily Ranson, a Grade 11 Theatre Complete student from Loyalist Collegiate, said. “It’s fun seeing how our personalities are turned into these really fun and unique characters.”

Each student developed each character with a specific voice, walk and other personality traits developed and exaggerated from themselves.

“It’s been interesting seeing just a few questions on a piece of paper turn into an hour-long play with bits and pieces taken from each questionnaire we were handed and brought into this amazing holiday special,” Ben Huigens, a Grade 11 student, said.

Huigens won’t be on stage but above, running the lights, sound and calling the shots from the booth.

“The most surprising thing for me coming into this was having the challenge of not having your set space,” Huigens said.

The one-hour show will take place in the Kingston Collegiate auditorium, which is a shared space with other classes in the school.

“I’ve had to reset my lighting board a few times,” Huigens said. “I’ve had to rebuild my soundboard, and just having to put the set back in place every day to make sure it’s there for where the actors need it to be.”

Huigens has developed his passion for theatre technology — what goes on behind the scenes — during his time with Theatre Complete.

“This gave me an opportunity to pursue what I love,” Huigens said.

The show is one of the students’ final exams for the semester.

“While my favourite part is the acting part, I’ve also got involved in the set design and building part of it, which has been really fun and I’ve really enjoyed it,” Ranson said.

Admission to the show will be by monetary donation, with 100 per cent of the funds raised going to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation.

“Every single penny [donated] to the show goes directly to Child Life Services for the purchase of toys for kids who are in and around the hospitals in Kingston during the holidays,” Clement said. “They don’t just buy toys for the children who are in and out of the hospital, they buy toys for the siblings of those children, so it’s a very family-focused dynamic.”

“I hope [audiences] take away a humourous attitude towards the scenes presented,” Huigens added. “It’s really great that we can do something good for the community while doing what we came here to do and what we love.”

Theatre Complete, one of the original Limestone District School Board focus programs, gives Grade 11 and 12 students an “intensive exploration of all aspects of theatre on a daily basis for the duration of a semester.”

“I want to pursue theatre as a career,” Ranson said. “I enjoy being involved in both the technical aspects but mostly the acting part. I [also] enjoy teaching it, so I wanted to take this opportunity to use my high school years to prepare for university.”